


Why He Believes in Fate

by Ivy_of_Arcana



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Paperman (2012) Fusion, Fate & Destiny, M/M, cuteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 14:35:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14334564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ivy_of_Arcana/pseuds/Ivy_of_Arcana
Summary: I recently watched the Disney short film "Paperman" and was immediately prompted to write this. It's basically the events of Paperman if they occured between Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej.





	Why He Believes in Fate

The daily grind was never very memorable for Ryan Bergara. He was used to his daily subway commute to his stable, dull, 9-to-5 tax-filing job. His movements, his thoughts, his entire atmosphere was monotone; everything was predictable because nothing changed.

But one day, it did.

Standing on the subway platform for the 8:35 am train, Ryan’s colorless thoughts were suddenly punctuated by a stray piece of paper blowing into him. As quickly as it had come, the paper leapt from his shoulder and away from him, only to be followed by a flustered, lanky man chasing after it. Ryan watched curiously as the man managed to retrieve the paper. Smiling apologetically, the man shoved the captured paper into a binder and stood next to Ryan.

Neither said anything; both had passed by many strangers in their lifetime. This was no different.

Behind them, the 8:25 am subway rushed into the station, causing wind to rush around the two strangers. Ryan was unable to stop his own binder releasing one of his own work papers, and it flipped triumphantly in the wind, relishing its newfound freedom – at least until it found the neighboring man’s face. The man was strangely tall, and Ryan had to swiftly reach up to grab the stray paper off his face.

The face he was met with was pale, awkward, and a tad scraggly, but Ryan immediately fell in love with it.

Later, when Ryan was telling Shane Madej his feelings in that moment, he’d mention Shane’s silly look of surprise and wonderment as they locked eyes for the first time. He’d tell him that it had been such a breathless second; Ryan had felt like his entire world had stopped, suspended in time above him. He would tell Shane that he tried to stop the tiny “ohhh” from escaping, but he couldn’t help it when Shane had timidly smiled at him. He would recall the shock when he realized that the fateful paper had _lipstick_ on it – a man wearing lipstick? – but then there was that strange, warm feeling as Shane had merely laughed quietly at him.

Of course, that perfect moment couldn’t last forever.

Ryan had wheezed back, of course – Shane’s laugh had been infectious – but when he had stopped, he found himself alone. The peculiar, beautiful, lipstick-wearing man had boarded the train, and Ryan only managed to catch a hurried glimpse as the train moved off the platform: his still, suspended world moved away from him.

Ryan was lost in vibrant thought when he finally found his way to his work office. He barely registered as his boss thumped a frighteningly large stack of papers in front of him; he was too busy examining that mysterious piece of paper marked with the creamy magenta lipstick. Ryan didn’t know what to do with it – it was useless now, marked up, but he couldn’t throw it away. He didn’t want to lose it, this eccentric reminder of the beautiful stranger – so when that mischievous wind picked up the paper and flung it towards the open window nearby, Ryan leapt to grab it. He was able to do so, but he suddenly paused at a familiar sight: the man from the subway platform, sitting down in the building directly across the street.

Ryan’s heart soared in hope, and he waved excitedly, praying a silent prayer to fate that the man would see him. He didn’t, but Ryan’s boss did, and Ryan hurriedly sat down, brought back to earth by the chains of reality. His eyes fell on that lipstick-marked paper, and, having the most curious idea, grabbed for it. But he stopped, and instead reached for one of the papers in the stack on his desk.

Ryan had once joked that being able to make paper airplanes was a hopeless skill, only really useful for naughty school-children and other jokesters. He would later amend that statement.

Ryan’s movements were harried, desperate; he folded airplane after airplane, tossing it out the window and hoping that it might reach his target. None did. But he kept going, each new airplane providing a novel spark of determination, a whispered promise that he may see that silly smile again. He even kept going when his boss angrily marched over and slammed down the window; nothing was going to get in Ryan’s way.

Well, except a lack of paper.

The bin that previously held the stack of papers clattered to the floor as Ryan knocked it over in his haste. He froze as every other worker in the office stared at him; one disturbed worker even pulled his papers towards himself, shielding them from possible theft from a love-struck lunatic.

Was it over?

No, it couldn’t be.

Ryan didn’t want to risk his last reminder of the man across the street, but he was going to lose him for good if he didn’t take the risk. A sudden burst of determination exploded in Ryan’s chest, and he quickly folded up the last piece of paper, its accidental lip print adorning one of the airplane’s wings. Taking a breath, Ryan marched to the window, preparing to throw –

The wind had another mind, and the paper airplane slipped from Ryan’s hand, floating mockingly towards the street below.

Ryan had only a second to glance back up and see the man, the elusive target, exit the door to the office he had currently been sitting in.

And then there was the sound of another stack of papers hitting his desk, and Ryan sank into his seat as his boss glared back at him. With an angry swish, the boss turned around, marching back to his head office. Ryan had nothing to do but stare bleakly at his back. His world had become still again – but no longer in a good way; rather, it was frigid and dreary and colorless, like every day before had been.

He made the decision easily.

Papers scattered as Ryan jumped up from his seat and ran out the door.

* * *

 

He was excited and desperate and breathless, and the world spun before Ryan’s eyes as he pushed out of the office’s front door and onto to the sidewalk. He knew the man would be exiting his building too, and Ryan bolted across the street, playing little mind as cars swerved around him. Reaching the other sidewalk in one piece was perhaps a miracle, but Ryan wasn’t thinking anything of the sort. He glanced around, but he couldn’t find the man. Instead, his eyes fell on the lonely lip-stained paper airplane, resting gently on the top of a mailbox as if the hand of an angel had placed it there.

It taunted him.

Ryan grabbed the paper airplane and hurled it angrily at the sky. He had lost the man, he had lost his hope, and he was certain that he’d lost his job. Puffing, Ryan stormed down the sidewalk, unsure of where to go or what to do.

But fate was a mischievous fellow, and as Ryan marched past the small alleyway where that marked airplane had fallen amongst its peers, the wind sprang up to have them meet him. Ryan was no longer in control of himself; the little planes pushed, directed him backwards, across the street, to the subway, into one of its seats. He didn’t understand what was happening, and he fought back, but the planes directed him as if they were moved by a sentient hand.

During that time, the little plane with the magenta-printed wing found its way to Shane, who had stopped at a small flower stand on the way out of his interview. The plane whipped past him, and the man found himself following it, driven forward by a curiosity that sparked within his soul. He chased it to the subway, and waited as the train rushed towards its next stop, carrying Shane and the little airplane with it.

When the two trains stopped, Ryan and Shane stepped out. There was the crinkling of paper as Ryan tried to shake his burden lose, and Shane looked over.

Shane smiled, and Ryan returned that simple expression.

Later, when Shane landed his interview at Buzzfeed, and Ryan had followed in his footsteps, the two would sit next to each other and laugh over that day. Shane would tell Ryan his adventures in lipstick, how’d he taken a risk with the interview that day because he wanted to stand out, and Ryan would wonder how the universe had lined up so perfectly for them. He’d describe his urge to throw each of those airplanes across the street, and then how they had pushed him towards meeting his lover. It was destiny, Ryan would say, and Shane would laugh. There’s no such thing! he’d respond, Like anything supernatural!

Ryan wouldn’t reply, but if he did, he’d tell Shane that he had only started believing in the supernatural the day the dancing paper airplanes pushed them together.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all liked it! I was first going to have Shane in the role of the 'Paperman', but then decided that it would be much more meaningful if the paper airplanes pushing Ryan towards his lover made him believe in the presence of the supernatural. :)
> 
> Also, this was written in one night, so please be kind. :P


End file.
